Jelly Bean Reaching More Devices, But Gingerbread Still Reigns Supreme

Here's the crazy thing about Android: the majority of users are still running their apps and customizing their homescreens on a version of the operating system that's been around for more than two years. According to Google, 54% of users are still running Android 2.3 / Gingerbread on their devices even though Ice Cream Sandwich was released over a year ago. ICS is now installed on 25% of Android devices, while Jelly Bean has reached 2.7% penetration.

But there are other reasons why these updates take so long to coordinate. For one, all of the functions of the phone, including WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS must be adapted to work with the new source code and vigorously tested for quality assurance. Then, every single one of the manufacturer's apps must be re-certified before release. To learn more about this process, click here.